The Official Blog of the Handcrafted Soap & Cosmetics Guild

Month: December 2013

Perusing the Beach Bird Botanicals line, you can almost hear ocean waves lapping at your feet. The soaps have a seaside palette and a seriously soothing vibe. Best of all, the company aims to make sure your skin feels as good as the soap looks. Born out of a frustration with existing commercial products, owner Robin Greene’s imagination took flight after learning about saponification, the chemical reaction that results in soap.

In business four years now, Robin explains, “The line has grown from cold processed soaps alone to over fifty individual products driven primarily by customer requests and anticipation of customer expectations. Above all, we take pride in the highest possible quality in each item we offer for sale. Our challenge always is to be the best among a field of competitive products.”

Now, you can do all of these things from the Insurance Portal. (How cool is that?!) That’s right. No longer do you need to plan a time to make a phone call or send an email….you can take care of routine policy maintenance from the convenience of your desk, at any hour of your choosing.

Many people enjoy the famous whiskies and beers of Ireland, but not so many take skincare inspiration from it. Enter travel-inspired, North Carolina-based Cozy Clover. Owner/Artisan Christy Osborne relates, “I have been soaping for a number of years but on a trip to Ireland I was inspired to turn it into a business. The natural beauty of Ireland shows through the products produced there through artisans, farmers and crafters. Shopping local is a practice and the norm, and this sense of community was very inspiring for me. We make our products using Irish Whiskey and Irish Stout.”

A member of the HSCG for 2 years and in business for 5, Cozy Clover’s careful attention to detail (right down to the mason cash bowls and wooden spoons used to craft products) and Irish influence is apparent. Most of Cozy Clover’s full range of bath and body products features Guinness Stout, Jameson Whiskey, Irish seaweed, heather, or moss. Asked to name a starting place among the plethora of soap, shampoo, deodorant, body butters, balms, scrubs, and facial products, Christy advises lathering up with a bar of her ‘wicked good’ whiskey lemongrass soap, followed up with a generous slathering of the matching body butter.

Christy’s Irish pride shows up online, too. Cozy Clover is all over the web. Find travel tips and Irish inspiration on Cozy Clover’s twitter feed, advance notice of sales and forthcoming batches on their facebook page, plenty of clovers and skin care tips via their pinterest account, short and sweet updates on their tumblr feed, and pictures of all the latest goods via Instagram. If you can’t catch Cozy Clover at a local show, shop online. You’re sure to find a bubbly bar that won’t leave you or your wallet with a hangover.